8. "but" - でも
But, a small word, but... There are other "buts" but demo is the most common. Learn this first and you can pick the others up later.
でも (demo) - but
日本語 が 好き でも フランス語 は きらい です。
- nihongo ga suki demo furansugo wa kirai desu.
- I like Japanese, but I hate French.
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demo or kedo
I thought in this instance kedo had to be used, for example: 私は日本語が好きけどフランス語はきらいです。
And I thought if you wanted to use demo you had to start another sentence, for example: 私は日本語が好きです。でもフランス語がきらいです。
I know it's basically saying the same thing but I'm wondering if kedo and demo can be interchanged. I hope someone can explain.
in my experience けど usually
in my experience けど usually has a だ or です preceding it...it can even be used as a connective particle. youre pretty much clear on the でも.
examples:
今日は雨だけど、明日は晴れでしょう.
today it's rainy, but tomorrow it'll be sunny (maybe)
今日は雨ですね。でも明日は晴れでしょう。
it's rainy today, huh...even so, tomorrow it'll be sunny (maybe).
i've come to think of でも as "even..."--when used alone it's "even so.." but with something before it it's "even______(do this)"
for example:
アメリカ人でもこの間違いをするよ
even americans make this mistake
gsRankin
ga and wa
okay i read what furry kef said but im still unsure when you should use wa and when you should use ga. does it depend on what you are saying or what?
ga wa
I am seeing how it is confusing because watashi wa is assumed. So watashi is the subject and wa is the subject marker but they are not even stated so the ga marks the object of the verb.Nihongo ga suki desu. Watashi wa Nihongo ga suki desu. ??? Maybe?
o.o
because its japanese its not a language for you to want to change -.- be happy that ur learning this anyway.
just curious.. what do you
just curious.. what do you want to say?
i actually also like japanese but hate french. i had to learn french for 4 years and it was like hell (no offence to french people! .. its just the language i cant stand.. probabbly mostly because the grammer just never wanted to be saved in my mind LOL)
question
why is it "wa kirai" and not "ga kirai" ?
zambeste [vb serios]
Because it's contrasting
Because it's contrasting フランス語 against 日本語. This might be more clear if we insert a hypothetical question in the middle:
Person 1: 日本語が好きです。 -- I like Japanese.
Person 2: フランス語は? -- What about French?
Person 1: フランス語は嫌いです。 -- I hate French.
Here, person 1's reply mimics the structure of person 2's question. (If you're not clear on why person 2 used は, just remember that "What about X?" is *always* "Xは？", never "Xが？")
In a real conversation, person 1's reply would likely omit the フランス語は since it's obvious. But, of course, if you leave out person 2's question, then it becomes necessary to state it.
- Kef
Founder of Learning Languages Through Video Games.
Also see my lang-8 journal, where you can help me practice Japanese (and Spanish, and Italian!)
Concerning the particles
Is it always like that? Using は before でも and the が after? Or is it more after what you say about the nouns rather than if its before or after "but"?